'I’m a lesbian spy and MI5 couldn’t be more helpful'

MI5 boss Andrew Parker reiterated his efforts to make sure the security services are 'gay friendly'

A lesbian MI5 officer today told how she is fighting Islamist extremism as the intelligence agency revealed that more than 70 gay men and women are among the spies it employs to protect the country from terrorism.

Anna, a psychology graduate, said she was “delighted” by the way in which she and her gay colleagues had been welcomed to the service.

She works as an intelligence officer assessing the threat posed by supporters of Islamic State and al Qaeda and said that the encouraging atmosphere helped her to better perform her role.

“I’m a lesbian. I’ve always been open about it and never had a bad reaction,” Anna said.

“Instead, I’ve been surprised at how supportive it’s been here. The message is that people are better at their job if they can be themselves so we’re encouraged to be open.”

Her comments, the first account by an openly gay MI5 officer of life as a spy, came during an interview at the Security Service’s Thames House headquarters in London.

They follow the announcement by the charity Stonewall that MI5 is one of the country’s top 10 most “gay-friendly” employers alongside organisations such as Lloyds Bank, law firm Baker & McKenzie and second-placed Tower Hamlet Homes.

MI5’s seventh-place accolade comes 25 years after it ended an official ban on the employment of homosexuals.

The policy was implemented because of the potential risk that gay staff might be blackmailed at a time when homosexuality had still to gain widespread social acceptance.

Anna, who is in her mid-forties, said such attitudes had disappeared and that she had found MI5 staff to be welcoming to gay employees since becoming a spy more than five years ago.

“There’s also a strong business case that people are diverse and complex and that we need to reflect that to understand them and do our job as effectively as possible,” she said.

“I work as an intelligence officer in counter-terrorism, assessing the risk and what actions we should take. Most of my work before I came here was about understanding people’s behaviour and that’s what I now do in a security environment.”

Anna, who came out as a lesbian while a student in the Eighties, said she previously worked in the civil service and in private sector roles in marketing and communications research.

She decided to join MI5 after meeting others from the intelligence world during her time in Whitehall and passed both the subsequent vetting process which recruits must undergo.

As with all applicants, she was asked to declare her sexuality as part of the requirement that aspiring spies must be open about their private life to prevent secrets causing difficulty later in their career.

She joined the agency’s LGBT — lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender — social network, which hosts informal gatherings as well as work-orientated events such as leadership sessions. There is also an annual conference with gay staff from MI6 and GCHQ. “It’s quite subtle, but it provides role models. It shows that you can be open and it’s okay,” she said.

As well as allowing gay staff to meet, the gatherings also give heterosexual staff an opportunity to seek advice on issues such as their children’s sexuality. A more visible sign of MI5’s commitment was provided last summer when it flew the rainbow flag — indicating support for gay rights — over Thames House on the day of the Pride march through London.

The intelligence agency’s director general, Andrew Parker, reiterated that commitment this week after the Stonewall accolade, issuing a statement welcoming MI5’s recognition as a “gay-friendly” employer. The organisation also has a scheme in which its senior figures, from Mr Parker down, speak about their commitment to helping gay colleagues progress.

“It’s leading by example,” Anna said. “People stand up and say that it’s not an issue to be gay in MI5, don’t worry, just get on with your work.”